4. Set aside 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Place remaining chips in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at Medium (50%) 1-1/2 minutes or until chips are melted and smooth when stirred. Gradually blend melted chocolate into cheesecake batter.

5. Remove Brownie Layer from oven and immediately spoon cheesecake mixture over brownie. Return to oven; continue baking 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool to room temperature. Remove side of pan.

6. Place remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at Medium 30 seconds or until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over top of cheesecake. Cover; refrigerate several hours until cold. Garnish as desired. Cover and refrigerate leftover cheesecake.

What to do:Place your butter & chocolate chips into a double boiler & allow to melt completely over the steaming water. Stir frequently. WHILE the chocolate butter is melting. Place the eggs & sugar into the bowl of your mixer. With the whisk attachment mix on medium-high speed until they become light & thick (about 8-9 mins). When light & thick add the flour & mix together. SLOWLY & GRADUALLY pour the chocolate/butter mixture into the egg mixture. Mixing on low until well combined & develops a glossy sheen (about 5-6 mins).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. WHILE the mixture is finishing it’s final mixing (turning glossy) GENEROUSLY spray 4 small ramekins with cooking spray. When the batter is finished it’s time to assemble:

Place your sprayed ramekins onto a cooking tray. Ladle batter HALFWAY up the side of each ramekin. Then, spoon 1 tbsp of Nutella into each ramekin. Finish ladling remainder of batter into each ramekin (do not overfill). Bake ramekins for 1o-14 mins until outside is solid and top appears to be soft (but NOT jiggly)

WHILE cakes are cooking, chop your walnuts & cut your strawberries. When cakes are ready CAREFULLY remove them from oven, place a plate on top of each one and quickly invert it. With a kitchen towel remove the ramekin, cake should fall right out. Garnish with nuts & strawberries. Serve immediately!

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease and flour 2- 8-9” round cake pans. Sift (or whisk) all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, and beat for two minutes. Once well combined pour in the hot coffee and mix well. Pour into the cake pans and tap each pan on the counter a few times to remove any large bubbles.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then use the edge of the pan as a guide to cut of the round top. This makes a great mid-cake-baking snack!

Run a knife around the edges and flip out onto a cooling rack. I like to “slam” the cakes out of pan to (hopefully) insure they come out in one piece! Once totally cooled, carefully slice through the middle to make 4 thin round disks. Stack with wax paper in between, then wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze, until ready to assemble. Frozen cakes are SO much easier to handle while frosting. It also helps to keep the frosting from getting crumby!

For the ganache: Place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl.

Heat the cream, butter and sugar in a small pan. Once the cream is just barely simmering, pour it over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.

Then whisk until perfectly smooth. Allow the ganache to cool another 10-15 minutes before assembling layers.

For the frosting: Heat the cream in the microwave until hot to the touch, then add the instant coffee to it and mix. Place the cream in the freezer for a few minutes to cool rapidly. Using an electric mixer, mix the melted butter, vanilla and cocoa powder until well combined. Alternate, adding the cooled coffee-cream and powdered sugar until smooth. Add a little more cream or powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

To assemble: Take the cakes out of the freezer. Slather 1/3 of the ganache in between each layer, until all four layers are stacked.

Press the top of the cake to level it. Using a large spreader, smooth the frosting around the sides. Then frost the top and re-smooth the edges.

Use a damp paper towel to clean up the edges of the cake stand. Place the last bit of the frosting in a piping bag to “fancy-up” the edges, if you want!

Leave the cake out, at room temperature so the insides can thaw. Cake taste better when the frosting and filling are room temperature and soft!

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed, until it turns pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and oil, beat 1 more minute, until fully incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, add half the amount of dry ingredients. Then add half the amount of yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Add remaining dry ingredients and followed by the remaining yogurt. Remove from mixer and finish mixing by hand using a spatula until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Remove from oven. Using a toothpick or large wooden skewer poke holes into the cake. Using a pastry brush, brush another 2 tablespoons orange juice over hot loaf.

Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Place on wire rack to finish cooling. When cool, glaze cakes.

Combine the remaining 6 tablespoons orange juice with powder sugar together with a whisk. Pour over cakes.

Jakarta - Though not use wheat flour, cake this one is very soft and sticky. Smooth texture of egg whites and butter together with a sweet chocolate flavor. Once given the cream and chocolate shavings, hmmm .. more tongues caressed delicious!

DirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees.Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with wax paper (I actually found that all of my cake pans are 1 1/2-inches deep...).

In a medium-size bowl, sift together the flour and the baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well-incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, beating after each addition until smooth. Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester (or fork, or toothpick) comes out clean.

To Assemble Cake:

Make two batches of peanut butter frosting, and one batch of chocolate buttercream.

Chop in half one and half bags of mini peanut buttercups. Mix about 1/3 of the peanut buttercups in the chocolate buttercream. Spread 3/4 of the chocolate butter cream on top of one of the cake layers.

Place the unused cake layer on top of the layer with the butter cream. Frost the top and sides with the peanut butter frosting. Use the remaining chocolate frosting and peanut buttercups to garnish.

Transfer to a heat proof bowl and slowly add up to 3 cups of powdered sugar stopping when your frosting has reached it's desired consistency. NOTE - this frosting dries very quickly. Once you spread it on the cake, you must work quickly to smooth it out! If the frosting dries, add a little milk or heavy cream to smoothen it out again.

Choose your most level cake layer and place it bottom side up on a plate or turntable.

Place dulce de leche in a pastry bag with a large coupler tip and line the outside border of the cake with dulce de leche (for the dulce de leche filling, I lined this a little too close to the outside and it overflowed and streaked into my icing a bit... which I ended up liking the look of so it all worked out in the end).

Add more dulce de leche and fill in between the lines.

Repeat with remaining layers (I made a 3 layer cake).

Frost and decorate your cake (and don't listen to your boyfriend's quips about the cake looking like a stegosaurus.)

Dulce de Leche Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Cake recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated (I also made a 3-layer cake, but this recipe is for a2-layer cake. To add the 3rd layer, increase ingredients by 1/2)

Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam). Add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Butter and flour a 13×9 inch cake pan, and pour the batter in it. Bake 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely before putting it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Cut the cake in half and fill with half of cream cheese frosting (recipe follows), using the other half of the recipe to spread on top. Decorate as desired.

I grew up outside Cleveland, Ohio, and the cassata is the cake of my childhood. This regional specialty is a great example of how recipes take on local styles over time. Some food historians believe the cassata has its roots in fourteenth-century Arab culture. In Sicily, the long-ago homeland of the immigrants who first brought it to America, the cassata often contains candied citrus fruits, citrus liqueurs, and a glazing of chocolate or almond marzipan.

The version of the cassata cake that I grew up with was quite different: a strawberry-and-whipped-cream-clad yellow sponge cake with a ricotta cheese filling. My childhood memory of the cake is that there were always leftovers that—thankfully—lasted for days. Flavorful and moist, that final piece of cake just fell apart in your mouth.

Ingredients

For the Citrus-Ricotta Filling

2 ounces (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

8 ounces (1 cup) superfine granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon citrus oil (pure orange or lemon oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

For the Cake

9 ounces (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 eggs, separated

16 ounces (2 cups) superfine granulated sugar, divided

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

For Assembling

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced

4 cups whipped cream

Methods

1. To make the filling, quickly whisk together 4 tablespoons of the milk with the flour. The slurry will be somewhat thick, so whisk thoroughly to make it smooth. Press out any lumps with a flexible spatula, if necessary.

2. Whisk in the rest of the milk and transfer the mixture to a 2-quart heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once bubbles that burp steam form, remove the pot from the heat and continue to stir for another 30 seconds.

3. Cover the milk mixture with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface. Cool for 15 to 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine the butter, sugar, citrus oil, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for up to 5 minutes.

5. Add the milk mixture and continue to beat on high speed until the filling is smooth, another 5 minutes. Beat in the ricotta cheese 1 tablespoon at a time.

6. Preheat the oven to 335°F and place the rack in the middle position. Line the bottoms of three 9-by-2- inch round pans with parchment.

7. Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into one bowl, and the milk and vanilla into a separate bowl. Whisk each to combine.

8. In the standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed to a stiff peak. Drizzle in 1 cup of the sugar while the mixer is running. Scoop the meringue into a large bowl and set aside.

9. Lightly wipe the mixer bowl and replace the wire whip with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter with the remaining 1 cup of sugar on low speed.

10. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl all the way to the bottom using a flexible spatula and mix on low speed until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

11. Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients about a quarter at a time without pausing between additions.

12. Stop the mixer and gently fold the meringue into the batter with a flexible spatula. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 27 to 30 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

13. Cool the cakes for 2 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edges and invert the cakes onto a flat surface. They will be very fragile, so handle them with care.

14. Assemble the extravagant cake by adding about 1 cup each of the fresh strawberries and the ricotta filling between the layers. Cover the outside of the cake with the whipped cream. Add more fresh strawberries around the edge of the cake if you like.

Sift together the flour and baking soda, like 10cm off the bowl to aerate it. Add in the sugar and briefly whisk to combine. In a 1 cup capacity measuring cup, pour in the oil and egg. Top up with mashed bananas to come up to one cup full. Pour that into the flour mixture and whisk until combined. Pour into a well greased 7'' round baking tin (you can line them if you want but I have no problem releasing them from the pan) and bake it in a preheated oven of 160°C for 20 to 30 mins or until golden brown. Run a skewer through the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Repeat the above recipe again to yield two layer. If you have only one pan, I'd recommend you don;t double the above recipe and leave the batter to stand while you're baking the first layer. The recipe contains baking soda and if you let it stand, you'll get banana hive cake instead. It's gonna be holey and won't look good.

Method1. Add coconut milk, eggs, sugar, water and salt in a mixing bowl and mix until well combined and all sugar are dissolved.

2. Sift and all all-purpose flour and rice flour into the mixture. Whisk until well combined with no lumps. If is too thick, add one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture resembling of a pancake batter.

3. Heat up oil in a wok/saucepan on medium heat. Tips: dip a wooden chopstick into the hot oil, if the chopstick is bubbling up, it is ready.

4. Preheat brass moulds in the hot oil, about 2-3 minutes. The moulds have to be hot enough for batter to cling on them)

5. CAUTIOUS: Dip hot mould into batter for 10 seconds. Make sure batter coats only the bottom and sides of mould, never over the top.

6. Slowly lift it up and dip mould back in hot oil. Shake to release from mould and fry until golden brown on both sides.

7. Take it out from hot oil, and let it cool over paper towel to soak up all the oil.